In mid-October, in the rec.arts.anime.misc newsgroup, a frequent visitor to the group (a producer from the former Fox Kids Network only known as TVGuy) posted a news item telling about the inevitable cancellation of Vision of Escaflowne by the network and the possible acquistion of Slayers by the network to air in February. Now, he asked for any of the newsgroup regulars to ask ANY question, which he would likely answer on the board. Well, it's a month later, and I'm still waiting for a response. I'll admit I was a bit judgemental and critical about the timing of the cancellation and the acquistion, and yet TV Guy never responded, not even via e-mail. So, as a webmaster, I felt I should post the original, unabridged post on this webpage, and you be the judge. Maybe you can show me why TV Guy never wrote back.
Subject: Re: well kids, it's official
From: Me!
Date: 10/12/00 2:14 PM Eastern Daylight Time
TVGuy6885 wrote a lot of things, from the obvious:
>escaflowne's getting pulled.<<
To the surprising:
>>as for me....i'll still be around. especially since there seems to be a girl named Lina Inverse in my future...<<
Since you asked the forum to ask any specific question, I have to ask the particular one.
What exactly is the mentality of the Fox Kids executives, programmers, and editors? Seriously, this question has been on my mind ever since I read that Fox Kids acquired the rights to Escaflowne (and Detective Conan, is that still Fox bound?). On the surface, it may seem that the Fox executives may be warming up to the fact that anime's more than just shows with "mon" in the titles.
However, as this cancellation proves, Fox Kids may be willing to experiment, but they're not willing to have confidence in the shows they air, especially if they don't have an ownership in them. Last year, the network aired several good shows, um, well, two (Big Guy and Rusty and Xyber-9). One you owned, the other you didn't. Both were cancelled. Guess which one got cancelled first?
Now this year, Escaflowne is leaving, and Cybersix seems like it's going into its last days (13 were made anyway, and so far, six has aired [one was skipped]). Kind of unfair, but hey, that's business.
Speaking of business, why exactly does it seem like that Fox Kids hates Cartoon Network's Toonami with an utter prejudice?
Competition aside, it seems like that Fox is trying to get into Toonami's territory by trying (and unfortunately failing) to make your action shows very diverse. However, I think Fox Kids has been paying attention to my friend Ken's interviews over at FantastiCon with Toonami executive producer Sean Akins (have you two met? I'm sure you both would get along fine).
In the first interview, Sean had an eagerness to try to get Escaflowne to come on Toonami. A week or two later, Fox Kids made the announcement that Escaflowne is coming to the network. In the more recent interview, Sean said that though it wasn't originally part of the big picture of the creation of the block, more fantasy-oriented shows may be Toonami bound in the future, and even mentioned Rayearth by name as one of the first to come. Now you come here saying that Fox Kids has snagged the rights to one of THE best fantasy franchises out there, Slayers, for this coming spring. A show by your own admission the networks haven't seen more than four episodes of.
Now, please tell me that these plans of Fox Kids are a little more than a coincidence in relation to the timing of Sean's comments.
I'm not saying that it's jealousy on the part of yourself and the execs of Fox Kids, but I think you recognize that Toonami has accomplished a lot in it's three years of existance, even raising the quality of kids' entertainment on television. Heck, if memory served me correctly, I recall an early Escaflowne promo that used the Toonami Gundam Wing promo slogan SUIT UP! in it.
Oh, wait.
I don't recall any Fox Kids executives or producers acknowledging Toonami in public, ever. They would mention ABC and Kids WB in the same breath, but not Toonami, not even Cartoon Network.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
Later.
Needless to say, I haven't been corrected. Almost a month later, I have awaited a response. Guess I touched a nerve or something. Good!
Update:
Fox Kids is no more. The popular broadcast block will completely end transmission on September 7, 2002, almost nine months since they ended weekday afternoon broadcasts. Saban, the dominent entity within Fox Kids, is now immersed within the Disney organization. The Slayers never did air on Fox Kids in 2001, nor 2002. One is even questioning if they actually had acquired broadcast rights to the series. It's been almost two years, and I still haven't heard from TV Guy, and probably never will. Part of me think that I was a little too harsh in my questioning while another part of me (the inquisitive, questioning side) think I wasn't hard enough. I asked some legitimate questions and didn't back down for one moment, but instead, I was unceremoniously snubbed. I won't let it consume me, and I won't speak anymore about this.
